News

Mutualisation plan gets short shrift from civil servants (303 words)

Government attempts to get the staff who administer civil service pensions to support the mutualisation of the My Civil Service Pension organisation (MyCSP) have ...

Youth workers to ballot over cuts (360 words)

The battle to stop youth service cuts was taken to prime minister David Cameron’s home turf last month as youth workers at Oxfordshire County ...

Redundancy watch (273 words)

In the public sector the high rate of job cuts continued. Recent announcements include the Central Office of Information, which is to close with ...

Murdoch scandal ‘highlights need for independent unions’ (346 words)

The closure of News of the World and the phone-hacking scandal which engulfed News International highlights the need for proper union representation and a ...

Justice system faces ‘meltdown’ (180 words)

The criminal justice system is in “meltdown” because of cuts of at least 20%, unions representing probation officers, prison officers, the police and other ...

Further pension talks planned (209 words)

Unions have reacted cautiously to the announcement that talks over contentious public sector pension scheme changes will now take place at individual scheme level, ...

Unemployment continues to fall (209 words)

The latest unemployment figures show a fall, but the number of jobless benefit claimants rose. Under the Labour Force Survey count unemployment fell by ...

Inflation falls on both measures (64 words)

The rate of inflation fell on both the main measures last month, according to the Office for National Statistics. Under the Retail Prices Index ...

Key economic indicators

Key economic indicators (183 words)

Inflation +5.0%, Average earnings +2.3% ...

Union news

Union finances remain in the red despite increased income (294 words)

Overall union finances remained in the red in 2009-10, although the figures were somewhat better than the previous year’s. They are published in the ...

Flashmob protest highlights low pay at Marks and Spencer (223 words)

Unite the union staged a highly visual protest at the Marks and Spencer AGM last month over low pay and insecure labour at one ...

Transport union considers merger (84 words)

The TSSA transport staff union is considering the possibility of merger as one of a number of options for partnership working with other transport ...

UNISON elections (65 words)

Public services union UNISON has broken new ground in elections for its top two lay posts. Eleanor Smith is the first black woman to ...

Political funds (90 words)

The number of union members contributing to union political funds rose between 2008-09 and 2009-10 by 2.7%, according to the annual report of the ...

European news

Austerity measures are unjust say Italian unions (494 words)

The Italian government’s austerity measures for 2011-2014, which were rushed through the parliament last month, have been slammed by unions. ...

Action threatened over code (159 words)

Slovak unions have threatened action against a new labour code which they fear will cut union and employee rights. ...

Irish court decision a blow to low paid (212 words)

The Irish high court has ruled that the country’s system for setting minimum pay levels in a number of low-paying industries is unconstitutional. The ...

Features

Care homes jeopardised by private equity firms (1943 words)

How we manage the care of our old and vulnerable is finally making headline news. ...

New era for trade union recruitment? (1874 words)

The last year has not been kind to trade unions. The number of union members fell by 179,000, or 2.7%, in 2009-10, according to ...

Public price of private rail (1529 words)

In the 1960s, Dr Richard Beeching’s infamous report proposing the closure of thousands of miles of Britain’s railways and around half of its stations ...

The fight for independence (1596 words)

On 11 May 2011, some 8,000 people took part in the largest demonstration by disabled people and their supporters for decades. The Hardest Hit ...

Law Matters

Victimised reps win cases against sack (301 words)

Two reps for the transport union RMT — Eamonn Lynch and Arywn Thomas — who were dismissed by London Underground, have been successful at ...

Worker representation (392 words)

The question of whether an employee can ask for a lawyer to represent them at a disciplinary hearing has been considered by the highest ...

Danger of e-mailed comments (267 words)

An employer could be liable to a former employee for negligent and damaging comments made in an e-mail to a new employer — even ...

Law Queries

Contract of employment (206 words)

A. Although not a contract, there is an obligation on employers to provide a “written statement” within eight weeks of the individual starting work ...

Agency workers (276 words)

A. You are right that as of 1 October 2011 agency workers do acquire new rights — under the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 — ...

Parental leave (234 words)

A. Currently, working parents with a year or more service who have children under the age of five (the age of 18 if the ...

Law Back-up

No let-up in Tribunals Service huge caseload (935 words)

The latest data from the Tribunals Service show that the number of claims fell in 2010-11 by 3% to 382,400 — taking into account ...

Health & Safety Matters

Urgency over ‘right to know’ on asbestos (316 words)

Local authorities need to do more to highlight the threat of asbestos in schools, say unions and campaigners. ...

Dog controls debated (225 words)

Lobbying of MPs by the CWU communication workers’ union’s over the need for control of dangerous dogs is paying some dividends, but government action ...

Nanomaterials (151 words)

The unregulated and increasingly widespread use of nanomaterials poses a risk to health, according to the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP). ...

School trips (87 words)

Education secretary Michael Gove has, on the grounds of “common sense”, drastically reduced guidance on school trips: official advice for those organising school trips ...

Health & Safety Back-up

Public sector workers face cuts and bullying (846 words)

A UNISON survey of more than 6,000 staff across the UK has thrown into sharp relief the impact on worker well-being of government cuts, ...

Equality news

Career barriers block BME workers’ progress (358 words)

Large numbers of black and minority ethnic (BME) workers feel they have to leave their current jobs in order to progress in their careers, ...

Older people stay at work past retirement (299 words)

There has been a significant increase in the proportion of over-50s and people over retirement age in employment in the last 20 years, but ...

Careers guidance (146 words)

Some young people are being failed by poor careers education and guidance. The Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (EHRC) review, How fair is Britain?, ...

Black women (90 words)

General union Unite has launched a black women’s network to look into the problems of discrimination in recruitment, pay, progression and family-friendly policies, as ...

Workplace Back-up

Survey points way to quality apprenticeships (851 words)

In July, the government announced funding for 103,000 additional apprenticeships — more than double the number originally planned. Its ambition is to increase the ...

Reviews

Defending multiculturalism (161 words)

Edited by Hassan Mahamdallie, Bookmarks, 240 pages, paperback, £8.99 ...

Boys don’t cry (156 words)

Malorie Blackman, Corgi Children, 320 pages, paperback, £6.99 . Age 12+ ...

A question of manhood (116 words)

Robin Reardon, Kensington, 352 pages, paperback, £10.99. Age 12+ ...

E-views

e-views (329 words)

Viral marketing is a way of using social networks to reach audiences for campaigns and advertising on the internet. The idea is that, if ...